Thursday, September 9, 2010

Flannery

Flannery O'Connor is one of the best I've ever read. Every time the seasons change I am reminded of something she wrote,
He felt he knew now what time would be like without seasons and what heat would be like without light and what man would be like without salvation.
(Now how many writers do you know of that can put all of that into one sentence?)

6 comments:

Katy said...

I like her too. What is that quote from?

Esther said...

It is at the end of her short story, "The Artificial Nigger."
She's great, isn't she? There are certain phrases of hers that stick w/ me.
Which of her works have you read, or which ones are your favorites?
I think I prefer her short stories to her novels. They pack so much punch!

Katy said...

Yes, I knew I had read it before. I have her complete stories and have read a lot of them. (Never read her novels). I remember hearing Mr.House say that he liked her, so I got this book and started with "A Good Man is Hard to Find." I must admit I was a bit shocked at how that all went down (having never read her before). But I was instantly hooked.

Esther said...

I like how you say you were "shocked" and then "hooked". It is probably a pretty safe bet that she has this effect on most people.:) It was Mr House who first introduced Miss Flannery to me as well. (Where would we be w/o him?)

Katy said...

I re-read "The Geranium" last night. Love that one. I think I will just go back through my book, starting from the beginning. Thanks for bringing her back to mind. I am at a "short story" place in life: not much time to read, so I like the feeling of accomplishment when I finish a story (even though it's short):)

Esther said...

How right you are! You've inspired me to re-read The Geranium. I had forgotten a lot of it, so it was like reading it for the first time.:) The old man seems to be sharing the same fate as the geranium. Is that what you thought? Also, the new, shiny-shoed, black neighbor seems rather useless and far more ignorant (despite his knowledge of the models of guns that he doesn't shoot) than Rabie, who knows the land and water like the back of his hand. Also, I liked the way she described the subway. "People boiled out of the trains and up steps and over into the streets. They rolled off the street and down steps and into trains- black and white and yellow all mixed up like vegetable soup. Everything was boiling." Just some things that struck me. Glad you mentioned it!